autobiography
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of autobiography
Explanation
You are writing an autobiography when you write your own life story. A writer who writes an autobiography is like a painter who paints a self-portrait. If you intend to write your autobiography one day, it might be a good idea to start recording notes about your life in a diary. The author Gertrude Stein was being clever when she poked fun at the very idea of autobiography when she wrote her own memoirs but titled them The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, instead of The Autobiography of Gertrude Stein.
Vocabulary lists containing autobiography
Words to Live By: Bio
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Write On!: Graph and Gram
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To Thine Own Self Be True: Auto
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Partially Devoured” also functions as a backdoor autobiography.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 10, 2026
Widdecombe continued writing, publishing four fiction novels and an autobiography, and made many broadcast appearances, including as a guest host of news quiz Have I Got News for You.
From BBC • Jul. 10, 2026
Moviegoers should be careful not to read too much autobiography into an actor’s creative choices, but Jolie makes such speculation tantalizing, adding additional layers of drama to her films.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026
Early in his life, Greenspan studied at the Juilliard School, where he focused on the clarinet and saxophone, according to his autobiography.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026
Frank helped his father with a collection of letters that he wanted to publish, and with an autobiography that Charles was preparing for his children and grandchildren.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
